Acting sheriff: Driver in triple-fatal was taking prescribed medicine

A crashed SUV in prepped to be removed from the front of St. Matthew's Church on Mountain View Street, Voorheesville. (Erin Colligan / Special To The Times Union)

The driver who struck and killed three women on Aug. 10 in Voorheesville had medication to treat Parkinson’s disease in her system at the time of the crash, according to acting Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple.

LuAnn Burgess was driving an SUV at the time of the accident near St. Matthew’s Church.

Apple said his office received Burgess’ toxicology results this past weekend.

Apple said Burgess had three medications in her system: Xanax, Wellbutrin, which Burgess’ lawyer said was being used to treat depression and anxiety related to Parkinson’s, and quetiapine, an antipsychotic drug used to treat cognitive symptoms of the disease. But the tests did not show the quantity of the medications in her system.

Burgess, 55, had prescriptions for all three medications.

Apple said his office sent the tests back Tuesday to the State Police crime lab for quantitative analysis, which could take up to a month.

Because there was no alcohol or illegal drugs in Burgess’ system, any charges against Burgess will hinge on whether she had taken more than what was prescribed, Apple said.

John J. Kelleher, who along with former Albany County Judge Larry Rosen is representing Burgess, said their client followed her prescribed doses.

“There is no crime here,” Kelleher said. “It is a tragic accident with significant loss.”

Burgess struck and killed Carol Lansing, 66, Rosemarie Hume, 79, and Frances Pallozzi, 81, when she lost control of her 2007 Toyota Highlander on Mountainview Street around 8:30 a.m. Burgess told investigators she was on her way home after dropping off her 6-year-old foster child at nearby Voorheesville Elementary School for summer camp when a flip-flop slipped off her foot and held down the gas pedal. The SUV accelerated off the road and into the church and the victims.

Kelleher said Burgess, who has a clean driving record, had not been told by any doctors not to drive and that she had recently been issued a handicapped parking pass.

There are no Department of Motor Vehicle restrictions for drivers with Parkinson’s disease, or any malady, said DMV spokesman Nick Cantiello. The DMV does not place restrictions on anyone taking prescription drugs unless a driver’s doctor submits a form saying he or she is not fit to drive, Cantiello said.

There is no record of any form being submitted by a doctor treating Burgess, Cantiello said.

Parkinson’s disease is caused by the loss of brain cells that contain dopamine, a neurotransmitter. According to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation website, physical symptoms include tremors, rigidity, slowness of movement and difficulty with walking. Cognitive problems, including dementia, may arise in advanced stages of the disease.

Local defense attorney Paul DerOhannesian said it would be difficult to prove criminal negligence or reckless driving on Burgess’ part if she was taking only prescribed levels of the drugs and they were not impairing her ability to drive.

“I can’t think of a case where there has been a criminal charge without some aggravating factor, whether it be alcohol, drugs, or a warning not to be driving because of a physical condition,” DerOhannesian said.

If Burgess was not impaired at the time of the accident, DerOhannesian said prosecutors would need to prove that Burgess “failed to see a risk a reasonable person would perceive,” in order to prove negligence or reckless driving.

Prosecutors would need to prove Burgess was impaired to convict her of vehicular manslaughter.

State Farm Insurance Co. has launched an investigation into the crash to see if Burgess’ SUV had been recalled. But when the Times Union ran the Highlander’s vehicle identification number through Toyota’s online database of recalled vehicles, it showed the SUV had never been recalled.

Onboard computer data from the SUV showed that Burgess’ SUV was traveling at 46 mph at the time of impact and 39 mph five seconds before the crash. Burgess never braked, according to the computer data.

The three victims were members of the Empire State Capital Volkssporters, a walking club, and were waiting outside the church for a 5K hike through the village to begin when they were struck.

David Golden of Clifton Park has been a member of the club for nearly 20 years and was standing several feet away when Burgess’ SUV was barrelling toward the group.

“She crashes into a shrub, then the church and keeps going,” Golden said. “She never slowed down. The entire time the engine is just reeving, roaring. I made a 911 call and the operator couldn’t hear me over the noise.”

Golden said he’s outraged at the prospect of Burgess never being charged criminally.

“How can you kill three people with a vehicle and the legal system finds nothing to charge you with?” Golden said. “I’m not in favor of just throwing her in a cell, but this needs a trial in court. There are questions that cannot be answered by press releases or statements through lawyers.”

#28-I was referring to everyone on here who claim to be knowledgeable on how this medication affected this woman or anyone else for that matter. #27, alcholol is not a prescribed medication. Anyone who drinks and drives is stupid. #26, I wish I could answer your questions but I wasn’t there and I don’t know (and neither does anyone else) what I would have done in that same situation. Would I think to hit the brake as I’m distracted by a stuck shoe? Would I be able to think fast enough as my car was going out of control? I just don’t know. I’m sure she wasn’t aiming. Seriously? That’s just mean to say.

What about medicinal marijuana? Are folks allowed to drive after they’ve smoked a big doobie? I mean, as long as it’s prescribed, it’s ok, right?

Another question: if this had not been a prescribed drug – say she took one of her husband’s Xanax – would it be illegal then? If it would be, what is the difference besides a piece of paper? The effect would be the same, wouldn’t it?

I don’t know what happened or what the answer is, but I still think she shouldn’t have been driving with so many issues all mixed into one. Meds plus cast plus flip flops. Just not a good idea.

If she had killed the foster child instead, everyone would be in an uproar about the inappropriateness of the home the kid was placed in, the background checks, social history, etc. But because she killed 3 old ladies, it’s all ok.

@33, who is saying it’s okay? I don’t think anyone is saying that. I was stating that medications effect people differently and everyone is just assuming that this woman was high as a kite. Bendedryl makes some people sleepy, to some it doesn’t. I don’t take medicinal marijuana so I have no idea if you’re supposed to drive or not. I would assume no. I guess you would have to read the label and/or follow your doctors advice. I’m just trying to make a point that this could just be a horrific accdient and there’s others that feel she should be hung. The beauty of America. You can actually have your own opinion.

#35: You really don’t need a medical degree to read a warning label and be familiar with the side effects of drugs. Xanax is a controlled substance and prone to abuse. I am certain that your friend could not be taking it every day and be competent to operate a motor vehicle which, in the wrong hands, as we see over and over again, is a deadly weapon.

@30
And if you read, I said let’s take all the “handicaps” off the table. How is it possible for someone alert and aware of their surroundings able to steer, collide with a building, hit and kill 3 people and not apply the brakes once? You please tell me how someone paying attention, with full control of a vehicle on a bright sunny day does that, I’d really like to hear that.

Now that that is said, she was on at least 2 medications known for their effect of causing drowsiness/dizziness, and in conjunction with each other cause even more severe drowsiness. Her arm was in a cast, restricting full range of motion. And her flip flop apparently was 47 pounds and weighed down the gas pedal. All this happened and she did not hit the brakes? All things aside, that is not an accident, she was either drugged out, not paying attention, texting, etc. THAT is negligence and PROOF!

Read the “warning label” on your next bottle of over the counter cough medicine. Read the warning information in any one of a number of prescription medications. You would never leave your house if you honestly believed all those things would happen to you.

There are I would wager millions of drivers on the road today taking Xanax. Any suggestion that constitutes dangerous activity in every case is simply stupid.

Has anyone considered the possibility she lost control (for wahtever reason) and hit the gas instead of the brake? Happens a lot. explains a lot.

#37, no Mickey, it’s just my opinion. I don’t think there was any intent by this woman to kill three people and believe it was an accident. Just trying to point out that there are other sides to everything. People don’t seem to like it when you don’t agree. Oh well.

We should have exceptionally high standards for all drivers. As a pedestrian, I often feel that our licensing standards are far too lax. You’re required to take a road test once in your life, and then are assumed to be a safe and careful driver for the rest of your life.

The reality is that people are driving distracted, in altered states (from prescription and non-prescription, legal and illegal drugs, often unaware that they are impaired) and start from an assumption that it is their right to drive, rather than a privilege. This is happening more and more often and is taught even to our children, and we wonder why there is this entitlement of “I can drive while I [insert distracting activity here]“. Teens are learning it from adult drivers and it’s been going on for a very long time. We’re just now seeing it start to come to a head.

No, we don’t know the circumstances of this specific accident, but to claim that because other people are bad drivers or because some of us may have engaged in similar behaviors to the ones that led to this tragedy. We should not be using this as an excuse for our bad behaviors, but as a lesson in why we should, if anything, be more vigilant when it comes to enforcing high standards of safety.

Her motives, or lack thereof, really shouldn’t come into play here. Whatever the other factors, the reality is that this woman screwed up, and her inability to control her multi-TON vehicle caused the death of three innocent bystanders and damaged someone else’s property. That it was a church doesn’t matter. That she has Parkinson’s doesn’t matter. The age of the victims doesn’t matter.

We need to wake up to the fact that people are driving less and less cautiously and are becoming more and more concerned with their own (assumed) inalienable right to drive. No. No one has a right to drive. It is a privilege that comes with a lot of responsibility.

I knew one of them woman she killed. It breaks my heart that her life is apparently going to continue on with no consequence for killing three innocent pedestrians. I don’t care whether she was on medication, in a cast or wore the wrong footwear. She killed three people because she was NEGLIGENT! It wasn’t an accident. She was not paying attention to the task at hand – driving her vehicle. Anyone who drives knows that you are negligent if you don’t pay attention.

When they said this woman was on medications to treat parkinson’s you would usually think “sinemet” the most common to treat it, yet she was on benzos, antipsychotics and anti depressants?? This is definitely driving with ability impaired and she should be charged as such. There’s no way she should have a foster child with this sedative concoction going on.

This woman ran down three innocent people. She killed three people in a most horrific manner. I ask you defenders if one of these people were a relative or friend how would you feel. These people are DEAD because of her negligence. Whether it was the meds, flip flops or speeding, she is responsible for the Death of three innocent people.
It’s nice to see that former Political Judge Larry Rosen represents her. Wasn’t he Craig Apple’s attorney as well? Interesting. If there is a political way to get her out of trouble, Larry Rosen is the right guy. Never mind the law, who’s the Judge? Right Larry?

The man who was at the wheel of a tour bus that crashed in The Bronx in March, killing 15 people on their way home from a casino junket, has been indicted for manslaughter, The New York Post reports.

The specific charges against the driver, 40-year-old Ophadell Williams, are not known, the paper reports, because the Bronx grand jury indictment remained under seal. A source close to the Bronx DA has informed the Post that one of the several counts is manslaughter.

The crash occurred in the early morning hours of March 12 on Interstate 95. The bus veered off the road, toppled over, and skidded nearly 500 feet before it struck a vertical road sign that sheared the vehicle in half at the window line. Several of the victims of the crash were decapitated.

Surviving passengers, some of whom are suing Williams, maintain he fell asleep at the wheel.

The bus was traveling at an unsafe 78 miles per hour within a minute of the crash. The posted speed limit is 55.

Despite overwhelming evidence against Williams, his attorney, Sean Rooney, insists he doesn’t drink, he doesn’t even smoke. He takes his job very seriously and he was alert, and is a great driver.

None of those claims seems relevant since alcohol was not considered a factor in the crash, and Rooney’s claim of alertness is merely his opinion and has no evidentiary value.

SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME HOW WILLIAMS CAN BE CHARGED WITH A CRIME, BUT BURGESS CAN’T BE CHARGED WITH A CRIME?!

@45, I’m going to take a wild guess here. He was speeding 33 miles per hour over the speed limit (which is breaking the law) with a bus loaded with passengers in his care. I would say there was some obvious negligence there. Ms. Burgess’s case, it’s just so no obvious to me. #39 makes some good points.

Most prescriptions tell to not drive or operate machinery until you see how the medications affect you. Unless she knew the medicines impaired her ability to drive or she was under a doctors orders not to drive she cannot be criminally prosecuted. Negligence is rarely the basis for criminal culpability. The answer to why this traffic accident happened may have to await a civil lawsuit. Of course the anti lawsuit fanatics will be chiming in shortly that a lawsuit is nothing but a money grab by greedy trial lawyers.

Ms. Burgess didn’t even know she hit and killed three people until she was arrived at the hospital! Can someone explain how that is not negligence or how you can’t possibly think she was impaired in some way? I was there at the church the day it happened and she didn’t just run over those poor ladies; she absolutely slaughtered them. It is an imagine I will never be able to shake and I pray every day for the families and friends that lost their loved ones due to Ms. Burgess. It absolutely disgusts me that she could still be out driving right this very moment. I personally feel she deserves SOMETHING for slaughtering those poor women and to definitely have her license taken away. I hope this makes the state reconsider its license renewal policy when it come to aging people, people prescribed certain medications, or people with certain diseases. As unfair as it is I would prefer much stricter laws than impaired people driving and potentially causing another accident like this.

For those of you commenting on what she should have done or what she didn’t do or how she reacted or what she did or didn’t realize, have you ever been in an accident? Or have something serious happen to you? Your mind is not your own. By the looks of that car, she at least was thrown around, maybe disoriented from smacking her head, which could explain why she didn’t realize what she had done. Post traumatic stress?

There are driving in NYS laws that reflect it as a violation to be behind the wheel while sleepy. Yes, you can be charged for that act! And no this isn’t Ripley’s Believe it or not!! Cellphone use while driving sweeps! DWI sweeps! Aggressive driving sweeps! Adult and child seatbelt/carseat sweeps! In other words there are quite a few DMV/Police laws concerning the safety of getting from point A-B! At the very least this is a cut and dry case of DWAI! Those letters stand for the act of “Driving While Ability (is) Impaired! The list of drivers in our state alone are vast in regards to those that have been arrested under the spider-web of what causes one to drive impaired! Lack of sleep was one that was added not too long ago! Also driving under prescription drugs is a major problem for all police forces nation-wide! This is a tragic situation that ended the life of 3 individuals, but it is an eye opener to a problem that exist under the covers.

Her lack of the use of brakes shows that she was either not paying attention, or passed out before she colided with the people/building. Yes, I have been in an accident (been hit, “not the hitter”) and nope, I didn’t forget what happened. Usually if I find myself speeding, and heading in the direction of innocent people and a building I would apply the brakes or swerve to miss. She did neither. I don’t see why you are so adamantly defending someone who did nothing to prevent the deaths of 3 people that could have been saved if the driver acted rationally, wasn’t impared, and was driving safely. There are no excuses for this. The shoes she was wearing, the cast on her arm, the drugs she was on were things she should have considered before murdering 3 people.

Jango you are nothing more then a joke, I think she should be charged but honestly, the race card is real old, maybe you missed it but the race with the LEAST rights is the white folks, See we have to watch everything we say or do so nobody takes offense and even when we do that we are still called racist, Unbelievable.

Karen-If you’re looking a racist I suggest you take a long hard look in the mirror and at your comments. You should be embarassed for even suggesting it’s us white people with the least rights…such a comment is so rooted in blind racism it would almost be laughable if it just wasn’t so pathetic, and wrong on so many levels.

To all people of other races I would like to apologize for Karen’s last comment as it isn’t representive of all white people, just the ones off their meds.

With proper forensic investigation, it was detected that the driver took prescribed meds for parkinson’s disease which contributed to his false actions. This shows how important forensic toxicology is.